Vulnerability in Linux
CVE-2026-52974
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tls: fix strparser anchor skb leak on offload RX setup failure When tls_set_device_offload_rx() fails at tls_dev_add(), the error path calls tls_sw_free_resources_rx() to clean up the SW context that was initialized by tls_set_sw_offload(). This function calls tls_sw_release_resources_rx() (which stops the strparser via tls_strp_stop()) and tls_sw_free_ctx_rx() (which kfrees the context), but never frees the anchor skb that was allocated by alloc_skb(0) in tls_strp_init(). Note that tls_sw_free_resources_rx() is exclusively used for this "failed to start offload" code path, there's no other caller. The leak did not exist before commit 84c61fe1a75b ("tls: rx: do not use the standard strparser"), because the standard strparser doesn't try to pre-allocate an skb. The normal close path in tls_sk_proto_close() handles cleanup by calling tls_sw_strparser_done() (which calls tls_strp_done()) after dropping the socket lock, because tls_strp_done() does cancel_work_sync() and the strparser work handler takes the socket lock.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.007 (50.7th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 51st percentile — 50.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.005 · newest: 0.007 · change: +0.002
Affected products
- Linux — versions 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, 6.0, 0
- Linux Kernel — versions 7.1
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-52974?
- CVE-2026-52974 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-06-24.
- How severe is CVE-2026-52974?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.